Obamacare’s Effect on SeniorsToday at 1:30 PM, President Barack Obama will participate in a health care “tele-town hall” at AARP headquarters in Washington, DC. The President is scheduled to answer questions about his health care plan from AARP members via phone, email, and even a live audience of about 40 AARP members and volunteers. We hope the event’s moderators will allow for a lively and honest debate because our nation’s seniors stand to be huge losers under Obamacare:

Losing Your Coverage:22% of all Medicare patients, which translates to 10.5 million seniors, are currently enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans. These health plans cover all of the traditional Medicare benefits and much more, including coor­dinated care and care-management programs for enrollees with chronic conditions as well as additional hospitalization and skilled nursing facility stays. President Obama has proposed killing this program entirely. A new study for the Florida Association of Health Plans found that because Medicare Advantage plans have richer benefits and lower deductibles and copayments than traditional Medicare, seniors in that state would face dramatically higher payments if forced to give up their Medicare Advantage plans. Cost increases would range from $2,214 a year in Jacksonville to $3,714 a year in Miami.

Rationing Your Care:Another centerpiece to Obamacare is the creation of a federal health board that will ration your health care. Obama supporter and infanticide advocate Peter Singer made the case for rationing health care recently in the New York Times, writing: “The task of health care bureaucrats is then to get the best value for the resources they have been allocated.” Conservatives in Congress have given Obamacare supporters every opportunity to disavow government rationed health care, but Obamacare supporters have voted down every anti-rationing amendment proposed.

Make no mistake, Obama plans to pay for expanded coverage for the young and healthy by denying treatments to the old and sick. Americans can do better.

There is no question that America’s $2.4 trillion health care system needs to be reformed. But it should not be done on the backs of America’s seniors. Conservatives have a better vision for health care reform that cuts health care costs by reforming the tax system, enabling true health care competition, and giving families control of their health care dollars.

27 July 2009

Palin called her 2 1/2-year tenure as governor a success, citing efforts to take on the state's long-dominant oil industry and progress on development of a natural gas pipeline. She also cited ethics reform, but said "ironically, it needs additional reform" to stop partisan and frivolous complaints such as those that have dogged her in the past year.

Palin said Sunday her reasons for resigning "should be so obvious," but listed them again for the benefit of a supportive crowd that repeatedly interrupted her speech with applause and shouts of support. She said her departure would spare Alaska an unproductive, "politics as usual" lame-duck session, adding that she would always work for Alaska.

"When I took the oath to serve you, I promised, remember what I promised? To steadfastly and doggedly guard the interests of this great state like that grizzly guards her cubs, as a mother naturally guards her own. And I will keep that vow wherever the road may lead,"she said.

Her first order of business as a private citizen is to speak Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. She also wants to campaign for political candidates from coast to coast, and continue to speak her mind on the social networking site Twitter, one of her favorite venues to reach out to supporters.

Free speech was a theme of her farewell speech at the crowded picnic in Fairbanks, as the outgoing governor scolded "some seemingly hell-bent on tearing down our nation" and warned Americans to "be wary of accepting government largesse."

"It doesn't come free," she said.

Palin also took aim at the media, saying her replacement, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, "has a very nice family too, so leave his kids alone!"

And she told the media: "How about, in honor of the American soldier, you quit makin' things up?"

20 July 2009: The call for jihad and seditious takeover of the United States by Islam was made loud and clear yesterday in Chicago. The fundamentalist Islamic political party known as Hizb ut-Tahrir (America), or HTA, hosted a conference at the Hilton Hotel in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn yesterday. The attendees, dressed in traditional Muslim attire, were segregated by gender according to the oppressive tenets of fundamentalist Islam.The women in attendance were covered from head to toe in fundamentalist Islamic attire, sat away from the men during the presentations.

While a small flurry of protesters gathered outside and across from the hotel and TV news crews gained only limited access to this threat to democracy and American values, a covert operative of the Northeast Intelligence Network successfully secured entry into this politically charged conference. According to this group’s leadership base in the U.S., present and speaking at the conference, “the time is right to advance the goals and objectives [of HTA] across America.”

Those goals include the establishment of a worldwide Islamic state governed under Sharia law with a Muslim ruler. And, according to the group’s U.S. leaders as stated yesterday - information secured through surveillance conducted by the Northeast Intelligence Network, the political climate in the U.S. is ripe to actively and openly solicit the support of Muslims in the U.S. in the advancement of these global objectives.

The operative at the conference stated that the tenor of the meeting was “one continuous incendiary attack against capitalism, democracy, and Western values.” Capitalism and democracy were described as evil, and Western values, Christianity, Judaism, and other non-Islamic beliefs as the antithesis of true Islam that must be “dealt with” in order to establish an Islamic Caliphate.

One unidentified event organizer stated that soldiers and supporters of Hizb ut-Tahrir have made significant progress in gaining political clout within the U.S. - an interesting claim considering that the group’s leadership had urged its members to sit out last year’s elections. It has been suggested by counter-terrorism researchers that Hizb ut-Tahrir is now entering the second or more public stage of their three-part strategy (Article link HERE).

Although the conference spokesman, Mohammed Malkawi, denied that his organization has or had any ties to terrorists or terror groups (calling the claims “absolutely baseless”) , it is well known that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zarqawi, and countless other Muslim terrorists were members of Hizb ut-Tahrir and promoted their doctrine. This group has been covertly developing a broad base of support in the U.S. and Canada for at least the last three decades.

They have acted as the recruiting and indoctrination arm for al Qaeda, and are considered by some to be the visible political arm of al Qaeda and their ideology.

The presentations made at the conference were virulently anti-American and anti-Israel, with presenters criticizing the continuing U.S. and Israel alliance and U.S. involvement in Muslim countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. It was stressed that Jihad is “the duty of every Muslim” to achieve complete domination and the implementation of a pure Muslim global state.

22 July 2009

The F-22 Raptor is the baddest airplane ever invented. The only aircraft I can think of that is better is actually a helicopter, the RAH-66 Comanche, which has also been discontinued.The Raptor is a stealth fighter jet. It is scary fast and practically invisible. But we can't have scary weapons, now can we? I mean, we want everyone to like us, right?

The fighter gap is often considered to be far in the future, but the reality is that future short falls must be addressed today. The President’s fighter cuts would eliminate one of the two remaining fifth-generation fighter production lines. This would severely limit the options available to Congress if it wants to restart production at some later date. The cost to the taxpayer would also be much higher than if production continues.

You can join Governor Mitt Romney, Speaker Newt Gingrich, Republican Whip Eric Cantor, and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and send the President a message that weakness invites aggression, not peace. You can join the 55,000 other Americans who have signed the 4% for Freedom petition which calls on the President and Congress to protect America by:1) restoring missile defense funding;2) giving our troops the equipment they need to complete their missions; and3) not including war funding, maintain a minimum defense budget of 4% of GDP.

21 July 2009

Boehner Statement on Delay of Administration’s Six-Month Report on Guantanamo Bay Terrorist Prison WASHINGTON, DC - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement on the delay of the Administration’s six-month report, as ordered by the President’s executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay terrorist prison by January 2010:

“For months, Republicans have been asking the President to present his plan for what to do with the dangerous terrorists currently housed at the Guantanamo prison. The delay of this six-month report is further proof that the Administration has no plan, and six months away from the his arbitrary deadline for closing the prison, the American people are right to ask if the Administration will import any of these terrorists into the United States. Despite the fact that a solid majority of the American people and a bipartisan majority here in Congress oppose releasing or bringing these imprisoned terrorists into the United States, the White House has yet to provide the American people an iron-clad guarantee that it will not choose this dangerous course of action. Instead of taking unilateral action that could put our nation at risk, the Administration should listen to these concerns, take them into account, and outline a comprehensive strategy for keeping these terrorists off American soil. “Two months ago, Republicans introduced the Keep Terrorists Out of America Act to protect Americans from dangerous terrorists being imported into our communities. This legislation includes common sense provisions to require governors and state legislators to pre-approve the transfer of prisoners into their states. In the absence of a plan from the White House, if Democratic leaders are serious about protecting the American people, they will schedule this bill for a vote in the House of Representatives.”

NOTE: On May 7, House Republicans introduced the Keep Terrorists Out of America Act (H.R. 2294) to:(1) affirm Congress’ opposition to transferring or releasing terrorists held at the Guantanamo Bay prison into the United States;(2) prohibit the Administration from transferring or releasing any terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay to any state without express approval from the state’s governor and legislature; and(3) prohibit the President from transferring or releasing a terrorist detainee into the United States unless he provides notification and certification to Congress.

During the call, a blogger from Maine said he kept running into an Investors Business Daily article that claimed Section 102 of the House health legislation would outlaw private insurance. He asked: “Is this true? Will people be able to keep their insurance and will insurers be able to write new policies even though H.R. 3200 is passed?” President Obama replied: “You know, I have to say that I am not familiar with the provision you are talking about.” (quote begins at 17:10)

This is a truly disturbing admission by the President especially considering that later in the call, Obama promises yet again: “If you have health insurance, and you like it, and you have a doctor that you like, then you can keep it. Period.” How can Obama keep making this promise if he is not familiar with the health legislation that is being written in Congress? Details matter.

We are familiar with the passage IBD sites, and as we wrote last week, the House bill does not outright outlaw private individual health insurance, but it does effectively regulate it out of existence. The House bill does allow private insurance to be sold, but only “Exchange-participating health benefits plans.” In order to qualify as an “Exchange-participating health benefits plan,” all health insurance plans must conform to a slew of new regulations, including community rating and guaranteed issue. These will all send the cost of private individual health insurance skyrocketing. Furthermore, all these new regulations would not apply just to individual insurance plans, but to all insurance plans. So the House bill will also drive up the cost of your existing employer coverage as well. Until, of course, it becomes so expensive that your company makes the perfectly economical decision to dump you into the government plan.

President Obama may not care to study how many people will lose their current health insurance if his plan becomes law, but like most Americans, we do. That is why we partnered with the Lewin Group to study how many Americans would be forced into the government “option” under the House health plan. Here is what we found:

1. Approximately 103 million people would be covered under the new public plan and as a consequence about 83.4 million people would lose their private insurance. This would represent a 48.4 percent reduction in the number of people with private coverage.

2. About 88.1 million workers would see their current private, employer-sponsored health plan go away and would be shifted to the public plan.

3. Yearly premiums for the typical American with private coverage could go up by as much as $460 per privately insured person, as a result of increased cost-shifting stemming from a public plan modeled on Medicare.

17 July 2009

It was also a busy week in the House of Representatives with some health care hearings going into the wee hours of the morning.In the Ways and Means Committee, Reps. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Sam Johnson (R-Texas) offered life-related amendments to the Democrats' massive health care bill. Rep. Johnson's would have explicitly excluded abortion from the minimum benefits and mandates provided for in the bill, and Rep. Cantor's would have prevented taxpayers from being forced to subsidize abortions. Both amendments failed, further solidifying the Democrats' health care overhaul as one big abortion industry bailout.In addition, a special order was called on the House floor last night where a number of Members spoke on abortion concerns in the health care proposals. Life was dealt another heartbreaking blow when the Financial Services legislation passed, allowing the nation's capital to use taxpayer monies to pay for abortions.The last time the District of Columbia was allowed to do this they took the money away from crucial AIDS services and put it towards abortion. History reveals the consequences of abortion coverage not being explicitly excluded from federal programs.The Medicaid program from 1973-1976 funded as many as 300,000 abortions per year until the Hyde amendment was enacted. Even Planned Parenthood's Guttmacher Institute recently stated that if abortion is taxpayer funded, abortions would rise by at least 30 percent. With all this mounting evidence, does anyone still believe this President's talk of reducing "the need for abortion" means reducing the number of abortions?Lastly, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kans.) offered a motion that would have amended the bill to reinstate the abortion funding ban. However, this effort was rebuffed in a procedural vote of 225 - 195. The news was mostly bad, but I want you to know that there are some true leaders on Capitol Hill working with us to protect the unborn, and defend faith, family and freedom. It is not time to retreat!

Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Douglas Elmendorf’s announcement yesterday that the Democrats’ government takeover of health care would increase costs – not lower them – is the third strike against the Democrats’ claims about their health care bills. But as Democratic leaders in the House move full speed ahead, there are three arguments they repeatedly use that NO LONGER ring true:

CLAIM: HEALTH CARE PLAN WILL REDUCE COSTS“Let me repeat - if you like your health care, the only thing reform will mean is your health care will cost less. If anyone says otherwise, they are either trying to mislead you or don't have their facts straight.” (President Obama, “Remarks at the Annual Conference of the American Medical Association,” 6/15/09)

“We need to bring costs down. We need to bring costs down for government. We need to bring costs down for families. And we need to bring costs down for individuals.” (House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Transcript Fox News Sunday, 7/5/09)

FACT: THE PROPOSALS WILL INCREASE COSTS“Here’s a blow to President Obama and Democrats pressing health care reform. One of the main arguments made by the President and others for investing in health reform now is that it will save the federal government money in the long run by containing costs. Turns out that may not be the case, according to Doug Elmendorf, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office… Elmendorf said CBO does not see health care cost savings in either of the partisan Democratic bills currently in Congress.” (ABC News, “CBO Sees No Federal Cost Savings in Dem Health Plans,” 7/16/09)

“Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf warned lawmakers the legislation that he has seen so far would raise costs, not lower them. Elmendorf was asked by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.S., if the bills Congress is considering would ‘bend the cost curve.’ The budget director responded: ‘The curve is being raised.’” (Associated Press, “House Democrats Set to Vote on Health Care Bill,” 7/16/09)

CLAIM: IF YOU LIKE YOUR HEALTH PLAN, YOU CAN KEEP IT“If you like your health care plan, you can keep that too.” (President Obama, Remarks in the Rose Garden, July 15, 2009)

“I say all the time, with respect to their health insurance program that they now have: if you've got it, you like it, you keep it.” (House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Press Conference, 7/13/09)FACT: DEMOCRATS’ PLAN WOULD FORCE MILLIONS OUT OF THEIR CURRENT PLAN"The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that 23 million Americans would lose their current plans if a Senate Democratic health care 'reform' bill was enacted." (Congressional Budget Office, Letter to Sen. Kennedy, 6/15/09)

“White House officials suggest the president's rhetoric shouldn't be taken literally: What Obama really means is that government isn't about to barge in and force people to change insurance.” (Associated Press, “Promises, Promises: Obama's health plan guarantee,” 6/19/09)

CLAIM: NO FAMILY WILL PAY HIGHER TAXES THAN IN THE 1990s“The pledge, as listed on Obama's campaign Web site, was: ‘No family will pay higher tax rates than they would have paid in the 1990s.’” (Associated Press, “House plan boosts taxes on rich to 20-year high,” 7/15/09)

FACT: HOUSE DEMOCRATS’ BILL WOULD RAISE TAXES TO 25-YEAR HIGH“The bill unveiled by House Democratic leaders Tuesday would create three new tax brackets for high earners, with a top rate of 45 percent for families making more than $1 million. That would be the highest income tax rate since 1986, when the top rate was 50 percent.” (Associated Press, “House plan boosts taxes on rich to 20-year high,” 7/15/09)

“For New York state taxpayers, the top [tax] rate would hit 56.92 percent, third-highest in the nation. And in the five boroughs, the top rate would be 58.68 per cent -- highest in the nation. Having abandoned any notion of lightening the load with spending cuts, House Democrats have put forward a 1,000-plus-page proposal dripping with new taxes, surcharges and fees. The biggest losers? Small businesses -- companies with as few as five employees, who'll have to pay a penalty of up to 8 percent of income unless they provide their workers with health insurance.” (New York Post, “Here Comes ObamaCare,” 7/16/09)

“Another implication of the Rangel plan is that America's successful small businesses would pay higher tax rates than the Fortune 500, and for that matter than most companies around the world. The corporate federal-state tax rate applied to General Electric and Google is about 39% in the U.S., and the business tax rate is about 25% in the OECD countries. So the U.S. would have close to the most punitive taxes on small business income anywhere on the globe.” (Wall Street Journal, “The Small Business Surtax,” 7/15/09)

The purpose of cap and trade (C&T) legislation is to reduce Americans' consumption of fossil fuels — coal, oil, and natural gas — and to speed up the transition to alternate forms of energy, such as wind and solar power. The "cap" part would be a legislated limit to the quantity of carbon dioxide that Americans would be permitted to put into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. The government would then issue permits that it would sell or give (details are being worked out) to businesses who could then either emit CO2 up to the amount stipulated in their permit, or, if they can curb CO2 emissions below that amount, could sell or "trade" the permit to the highest bidder in the after-market.

The stated overarching goal of proposed C&T is to save the planet from human-caused climate change, which C&T proponents attribute to human emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily CO2 from fossil fuels. These proponents truly believe (despite considerable scientific disagreement) that such measures are necessary to save the earth. Others have a political agenda: If government can regulate energy consumption, then government has great control over economic activity and people's lives — an irresistible lure to central planners, social engineers, utopian visionaries, and megalomaniacs. [not to mention wannabe dictators, marxist idiots, and assorted loonie-tunes]

/snip

We the people, though, should reckon the cost to our liberty. If this principle becomes law, we may face a day when a federal bureaucrat will grant permission to Al Gore to jet around to preach the evils of CO2 emissions while denying Joe Sixpack the right to fly cross-country to see his girlfriend once a month.

Might we emulate the Brits, who currently are devising a "para-police" force to monitor energy consumption?

There is much at stake in the C&T debate. This is one of the major issues of our time. Become informed.

Just spoke with with my bud cclezel who was at the Webb office today. His estimate was 200 stouthearted folks against socialized healthcare and one citizen promoting cap and trade.(I admire anyone who takes the time to express an opinion, I just wish they would think things through.)

Pictures will be forthcoming. News crews were on scene. The Richmond PD were as professional and supportive as could be expected. Thank You Richmond PD.

15 July 2009

I want to know why our elected representatives, specifically YOU, are remaining silent regarding the question of our present Pretender to the Presidency, Barrack Hussein Obama’s eligibility under Article II, Section 1 of the U. S. Constitution. Surely you have heard about it! Seen the billboards? Maybe even received a letter or two from your constituents?

I understand why the main stream media is silent. They are bought and paid for by the far left and the Obama administration. But why you? I will give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume that you don’t have your hands in the same pockets as the media. So what is it? Are you afraid? If so, of whom are you afraid? Obama? If you are afraid of anybody, it should be the people who elected you, the people you swore to represent at the same time you swore to uphold the Constitution, the people who have the power to remove you from your office in the next election.

WHERE IS THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE? And don’t tell me it was published on the Internet. That IS NOT a Birth Certificate. That is a “Certificate of Live Birth”, (And it reported to be a forgery anyway.), and is a totally different document. Anybody, from anywhere in the world, can go to a court house in Hawaii with a live child in tow, born ANYWHERE in the world, and obtain such a certificate.

All a Certificate of Live Birth documents is that the child was born alive. It DOES NOT say where, at what hospital, who the delivering physician was or anything else that would establish that child as a “Natural Born Citizen of The United States of America”. WHERE IS THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?

Why has Obama spent over a million dollars fighting the release of his Birth certificate, along with his college records, (which I have strong reason to believe would show that he received financial aid as a “FOREIGN STUDENT”.), as well as his passport used to travel “back home” to Africa while attending school here in America?

Why did the U. S. Army back down and “revoke” the orders of U. S. Army Colonel Stefan Frederick Cook instead of deploying him to Afghanistan after he challenged the legitimacy of the orders due to the questionable status of the present Pretender to the Presidency, Barrack Hussein Obama? If Obama has nothing to hide, then why is he hiding that document? WHERE IS THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?

Have you not seen the petitions signed by hundreds of thousands of Americans asking “WHERE IS THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE”? How dare you and the other so-called “representatives of the people” ignore our demands? And get this right. It is not a “request”. It is a “DEMAND”. We want this question put to rest once and for all.

If in fact, as I have come to believe because of the continued fight by Obama to keep these records secret, he is NOT ELIGIBLE TO HOLD THE OFFICE OF POTUS, then the longer this charade continues, the worse the situation becomes. Every Bill he signs, every Executive Order he drafts and ever Czar he appoints, becomes INVALID! The mess he is creating, if ineligible to hold the office, becomes worse with every passing day. Untangling this mess becomes a bigger and bigger problem the longer it is allowed to grow. “We The People” DEMAND an answer to the question of his eligibility to hold the office. WHERE IS THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?

As my representatives, I demand that you raise your voice in this matter. I demand that both Republicans and Democrats “represent” the people who elected them, and DEMAND on our behalf that Obama produce the document needed to settle this question. What are you all afraid of? The truth? Do you not realize that “The Truth” and ONLY “The Truth” is all that “We The People” want? It is all that we will accept.

If you or Obama think this will just go away, you are sadly mistaken. If we can not get our elected “representatives” to REPRESENT US, then we will continue though the courts. We will exercise our right to assembly, our right to petition the government, our right to free speech. We will use the same tactics as the far left groups use, and march in the streets of Washington, and protest the fact that our questions are not being answered.

You and all the rest “on the hill” would do well to remember these words. “…Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED, that whenever any Form of Government becomes DESTRUCTIVE OF THESE ENDS, it is the RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER OR ABOLISH IT, and to institute new Government..."

One way or the other, we will have that which we DEMAND. The Truth! We will have a POTUS who has proven that he or she is eligible to hold the office. We will have “Representatives” who actually REPRESENT us.

I suggest that you align yourself with “The People”, and do that which we have asked.

On July 5, The Post published a letter from Martha Gillis of Springfield, whose nephew, Lt. Brian Bradshaw, was killed in Afghanistan on June 25, the day that Michael Jackson died. The letter criticized the extensive media coverage of Jackson's death compared with the brief coverage of Lt. Bradshaw's death. Among the responses was the following letter, written July 9 by an Air National Guard pilot and a fellow member of the crew that flew Lt. Bradshaw's body from a forward base in Afghanistan to Bagram Air Base.

Capt. James Adair, one of the plane's pilots, asked the editorial page staff to forward the letter to the Bradshaw family. He and Brian Bradshaw's parents then agreed to publication of these excerpts.

Dear Bradshaw Family,We were crew members on the C-130 that flew in to pick up Lt. Brian Bradshaw after he was killed. We are Georgia Air National Guardsmen deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. We support the front-line troops by flying them food, water, fuel, ammunition and just about anything they need to fight. On occasion we have the privilege to begin the final journey home for our fallen troops. Below are the details to the best of our memory about what happened after Brian's death.We landed using night-vision goggles. Because of the blackout conditions, it seemed as if it was the darkest part of the night. As we turned off the runway to position our plane, we saw what appeared to be hundreds of soldiers from Brian's company standing in formation in the darkness.Once we were parked, members of his unit asked us to shut down our engines. This is not normal operating procedure for that location. We are to keep the aircraft's power on in case of maintenance or concerns about the hostile environment. The plane has an extremely loud self-contained power unit. Again, we were asked whether there was any way to turn that off for the ceremony that was going to take place. We readily complied after one of our crew members was able to find a power cart nearby.Another aircraft that landed after us was asked to do the same. We were able to shut down and keep lighting in the back of the aircraft, which was the only light in the surrounding area. We configured the back of the plane to receive Brian and hurried off to stand in the formation as he was carried aboard.Brian's whole company had marched to the site with their colors flying prior to our arrival. His platoon lined both sides of our aircraft's ramp while the rest were standing behind them. As the ambulance approached, the formation was called to attention. As Brian passed the formation, members shouted "Present arms" and everyone saluted. The salute was held until he was placed inside the aircraft and then the senior commanders, the sergeant major and the chaplain spoke a few words.Afterward, we prepared to take off and head back to our base. His death was so sudden that there was no time to complete the paperwork needed to transfer him. We were only given his name, Lt. Brian Bradshaw. With that we accepted the transfer. Members of Brian's unit approached us and thanked us for coming to get him and helping with the ceremony. They explained what happened and how much his loss was felt. Everyone we talked to spoke well of him -- his character, his accomplishments and how well they liked him. Before closing up the back of the aircraft, one of Brian's men, with tears running down his face, said, "That's my platoon leader, please take care of him."We taxied back on the runway, and, as we began rolling for takeoff, I looked to my right. Brian's platoon had not moved from where they were standing in the darkness. As we rolled past, his men saluted him one more time; their way to honor him one last time as best they could. We will never forget this.We completed the short flight back to Bagram Air Base. After landing, we began to gather our things. As they carried Brian to the waiting vehicle, the people in the area, unaware of our mission, stopped what they were doing and snapped to attention. Those of us on the aircraft did the same. Four soldiers who had flown back with us lined the ramp once again and saluted as he passed by.We went back to post-flight duties only after he was driven out of sight. Later that day, there was another ceremony. It was Bagram's way to pay tribute. Senior leadership and other personnel from all branches lined the path that Brian was to take to be placed on the airplane flying him out of Afghanistan.A detail of soldiers, with their weapons, lined either side of the ramp just as his platoon did hours before. A band played as he was carried past the formation and onto the waiting aircraft. Again, men and women stood at attention and saluted as Brian passed by.Another service was performed after he was placed on the aircraft. For one brief moment, the war stopped to honor Lt. Brian Bradshaw. This is the case for all of the fallen in Afghanistan. It is our way of recognizing the sacrifice and loss of our brothers and sisters in arms.Though there may not have been any media coverage, Brian's death did not go unnoticed. You are not alone with your grief. We mourn Brian's loss and celebrate his life with you. Brian is a true hero, and he will not be forgotten by those who served with him. We hope knowing the events that happened after Brian's death can provide you some comfort.

11 July 2009

“House Democrats have finally made clear that they will fund their government takeover of health care by raising taxes on hard-working American families and small businesses in the midst of one of the worst recessions in recent memory. With unemployment nearing double digits nationwide, the last thing we need is a massive tax hike that will punish small businesses and cost even more American jobs.”House Minority Leader John Boehner

Would anyone mind if I pointed out the obvious AGAIN?

Dhimmicrats are deliberatley undermining the economic and national security of America. They have no intention of stopping. They have the votes to pass any piece of legislation they choose, anytime they want. Most of what they are doing is outside the scope of their Constitutionally mandated authority.

If they were serious about helping Americans, the first step would be to lift the restrictions on offshore drilling and allow American oil companies to build refineries.

Second, lift the restrictions on domestic drilling inside the borders. Start pumping the oil and gas we own. We need to stop buying oil and begin selling it.

Third, cut the capital gains tax rate in half and make it permanent.

Fourth, eliminate Federal witholding on income and begin the process of instituting a flat tax/fair tax.

But, we all know the dhimmicrats don't give an FRA about ordinary Americans.They demonstrate that every day.

08 July 2009

Okay, I need to rant.I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson. As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villian to many people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn't the point of my rant.

Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to ENTERTAIN people, the Amercian people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to hold a "moment of silence" for his passing? Am I missing something here?

ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he's a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom? All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and theUnited States of America. Where is their moment of silence?

Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying "good riddance," and "thank God for IEDs?" When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a "Pop Icon?"

I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them. But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we will never make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too. We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it. Feel free to pass this along if you want.

Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who isserving in the military; "So that others may live..."Isaac

Only two people have ever effectively given their lives for you.Jesus Christ and The American G.I.One died for your sins, the other died to give you freedom.

My 2 cents:First, if you're someone who is offended by this post, thats too bad, but the fact is, I don't give an FRA what you think, and I damn sure ain't sorry by any stretch.Second, if Congress were to hold a moment of silence for all the Warriors who made the ultimate sacrifice, America would be safe for a few days, because the dhimmis wouldn't be doing anything else, and those Warriors would once more and for the final time, be protecting us "from all enemies foreign and domestic".

06 July 2009

The ONLY people referring to her as a "quitter" are the ones employed by corporate media. The grassroots activists in the conservative movement, (yours truly included), could not be more tickled if we had feathers. (Notice how well I cleaned that up?)

Sarah Palin made what I believe is a career path decision after insuring that the transition of power in Alaska was as smooth as possible. She did everything exactly right.

Her "full-court press" analogy was a reference to the insidious and pernicious encroachment of our rights by a government that has been given free reign to pass any legislation, take down any private corporation, set wage levels for private jobs and stifle economic freedom and self-determination. She has decided she's in a position to help combat that situation and she's right.

Sarah Palin has a knowledge of energy recovery and production. Alaska has more oil and NG than we could use in 2 centuries. She knows where it is. She knows how to get it.

She is the governor of a state whose shoreline is still considered the front-lines of our National Security. The AK-ANG is on-duty 24/7/365 due to the state's proximity to Russia. The Alaska governor gets security briefings I doubt Joe Biden has clearance for.

Sarah Palin scares the hell out of the elites in this country because they know she is what you see. There are no pretensions, no illusions (or delusions) of grandeur, no sense of entitlement. She will do what is best for her family, which is by extension, what is best for my family, which by further extension, is what is best for the country.

She scares the hell out of some of the young people because they see their mother.

Sarah Palin, IMAO, is now the defacto head of the grassroots wing of the conservative movement.

Disclaimer: The above is the sole opinion of a NASCAR watching, gun-owning, pick-up truck driving, camo-wearing, Crown Royal drinking, heterosexual, former Marine male.No one says you have to agree.

Fastened upon our ancestors by the despots of faraway lands, the Chains of Tyranny were linked by hereditary bondage, undeserved tribute and indentured servitude. By exhibiting gallant resolve and courage – in some cases against the face of certain death – our Minutemen forefathers gloriously threw off these chains just 233 short years ago.

Much has changed since that time. Yet today, we hear again the rattling and clanking of the Chains of Tyranny. The chains we hear are held not by foreign powers. Dreadfully, it is those among us, many of whom are our elected leaders, who possess the chains and toil endlessly to cast them across our backs. Now heavier and longer, the Chains of Tyranny have been wrought with new links – apathy masked by complacency, socialism fueled by internationalism, cults of undeserved celebrity and a reckless belief in the equality of results.

Moreover, they are now deceptively plated in gold. We have been assured, time and time again, by those who hold the chains that they "know better" and that to embrace their shackles would be "for our own good."

The threatened return of the Chains of Tyranny triggers that transcendent call for us to assemble here today.

Who are we?

We are the Defenders of Liberty!

Our hands reach across generations. We do not perceive the value of each other in abstract terms of race, gender, ethnicity or creed. We do not see ourselves as rich or poor. We spurn "identity politics" as a lazy and inadequate substitute for a guarded vigilance balanced by independent thoughts. For we are all individual citizens of America – black and white, man and woman, Mayflower descendent and newly naturalized – and we must all stand united to protect freedom's priceless but delicate charge!

We detest efforts by the holders of the Chains of Tyranny to corrupt the everyday meaning of things and turn us against one another.

Hope is not faith! Change is not reform! Taxation is not charity! Equality is not opportunity! Servitude is not freedom!

To this end, we reject the following confused ideas tinkered in minds that reason abandoned and faith no longer moderates: Inconvenient truths, audacities of hope, carbon footprints, unearned incomes and government-sponsored "recoveries."

We believe there is but one market – the free market – that, if allowed to run unfettered in a free society, can provide all men and women the opportunity to use the results of their work to better themselves, their families and their communities.

We know that public bailouts, no matter the intention, foster dependence, which in turn fornicates with servitude and begets slavery. For this reason alone, we would rather walk than drive a car made by any government! We would rather be paupers than be made rich by "public" money! We would rather drop dead than be cared for by Nurse Fed!

We further reject the guise of "universal health care" and recognize this abhorrent creature for what it is: a brazen attempt to seize illegally our wealth, control how we care for our mortal bodies, limit our access to the best medicines, stifle scientific progress and medical innovation, and transform our doctor's offices and hospitals into DMV-style waiting rooms.

The Defenders of Liberty will never stand by and ignore the attempts of others to cast off their own chains of servitude. We will not strike accords or offer bribes to dictators! We would rather cut off our hands before extending them to the harbingers of evil!

Speaking of evil, we know only those true rights: those that are unalienable and endowed by our Creator. We reject penumbral "rights" as false and dangerous ideas contrived in judicial cauldrons established only to massacre those who permeate the bookends of life.

And finally, we know that our sovereignty shall forever reside in We the People. For this we reassert that any government that limits the God-given right of her citizens to defend themselves automatically ceases to be a government – for such action shall void the social contract from which it was forged.

We are the True Patriots, left to guard perpetually that shining city upon a hill. We know of her, we dream of her, and yes, throughout history she has had a name: AMERICA! Let us rally around her, for we are the Defenders of Liberty! Let us will hoist our flags, wave our banners and bear our arms! Let us be vigilant and fight any attempt to ravage her! For, as the envious eyes of the world are still cast upon us, we vow not to be the last to feel the sweet effervescence of her freedom!

Remember this time last year? The only thing that has changed is the price of gasoline and the dhimmis are in charge with a documented socialist engineering agenda. We still have the same anti-American economic and national security policies when it comes to oil and gas exploration and putting American companies first.The dhimmis are still working against this country's best interests.

Why, after all the assistance we've given to Iraq over the past five years, was the first major Iraqi oil deal signed with China and not with an American or even a western company? The answer is, in part, because three Democratic senators intervened in Iraqi domestic politics earlier in [2008] to prevent Iraq from signing short-term agreements with Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total, Chevron, and BP.

Without the resolve of the soul of its people, July 4th, 2009 could be the last meaningful Independence Day for Americans.

There can no longer be any doubt that the malcontent who sits in the Oval Office has malevolence at heart for all things America.

President Barack Hussein Obama is, in essence singing from the same choir-book as Hugo Chavez, the Castro brothers, and even the evil and corrupt Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In fact, it is Obama’s voice that can be heard singing the Swan Song of America the loudest.

Today as main-street Americans muster the kind of spirit needed to celebrate July 4th, their country teeters on an engineered economic collapse. As they prepare for America’s Big Day, indignities are hurled at them, not just from a vociferous enemy across the world, but from an anti-American White House.

Even as Americans worry about losing their homes and jobs, information overload has become the bewildering status quo. The increasing asked, “What can we do?” is never answered.Put in the vernacular of the lay person, everyone’s “talking at Americans”. Talking heads are talking at Americans from 24-hour television networks. Radio talk show hosts are talking at Americans. Internet writers are talking at Americans. Incoming emails have never been so brisk.

As everyone “talks at” Americans, their president is acting out.

Almost every day since November 4, 2008 Americans have heard about yet another Obama atrocity, each one bolder and more shameful than the one before.

Obama, or whomever this braggadocio Agent of Change really is, seems in a hurry to present a battered, and humiliated America back to the faceless masters he serves.

Opinion is coming at John Q. Public from every direction. They are as plentiful as the grains of sand in the Arabian Desert, some qualified, some sincere and heartfelt, some not, many confusing.

Let this July 4th be the time to tune out on the broken record of Obama. Replace all the talk of Obama with the resolve to bring American back from the brink, a time to replace talk with action.

Unless Obama brings to a halt his rampage over America, it is time for Americans to find the way out of the dark; time to take their country back, and time to stop being the tax base of Congress megalomaniacs.

Americans shouldn’t worry about inflated popularity polls. They shouldn’t worry about the Obamabot zombies who march as a mindless cult. Real life zombies are not frightening, for they lack passion and energy, and only follow along, lemming like, on the path of least resistance. At the end of the day, they are people made from plastic, film stars, hiding from their latest strand of gray hair, covering up skin without a tan and applying Botox to their wrinkles. The plastic people are shored up by people whose frail grip on reality is only held together by the bubblegum of a strong sense of entitlement, awaiting ships that never come in.

Americans shouldn’t worry about, but only tune out on a treasonous media. They worship at the altar of a hero whose feet are clearly clay. Media types are even more afraid than the people of of ending up on the wrong government list. They cower in offices hoping their fawning will keep them safe from harm.

Americans shouldn’t worry overly much about big talking Obama. The only place where he’s an airtight legend is in a mind plagued by delusions of grandeur. The kind of grandeur where he thinks he’s King of the World, the Michael Jackson of Politics, The Messiah. At the end of the day, Obama is only a desperado despot, and only a crass politician who made it to the top by virtue of wiping out his past.

As Americans celebrate this Independence Day, they know they are not the only people whose country is under threat, not the only people whose fight for survival is being carried out in real time.

In Iran, the fight for democracy continues, in spite of the torn and bloodied bodies that break the human heart, but not the human spirit. This is a fight for democracy that continues even where the Islamic Regime forces its way into hospital to arrest the wounded.

Americans can take heart from the people of Honduras who caught up with a president who tore up their Constitution. They gave him the bum’s rush, loaded him onto a plane in the borrowed clothes of another and sent him into exile.

Whenever there is darkness in the world, there is daylight somewhere else.

America will find the way out of the dark and into the light of a new day. And when the way out is found, it won’t come from the media, or any of the talking heads. It will come from the indomitable spirit carried for centuries in the hearts of true patriots.

The answer for the cunning but empty rhetoric of Obama is the same one used down through the ages by little people the world over. You don’t need a TelePrompTer to say it. All together now: “Throw the bum out!”

03 July 2009

What passport did The Chosen One (may peace be upon him) use when he was shuttling between New York , Jakarta , and Karachi ?

How did a young man who arrived in New York in early June 1981, without the price of a hotel room in his pocket, suddenly come up with the price of a round-the-world trip just a month later?

Once he was on a plane, shuttling between New York , Jakarta , and Karachi , what passport was he offering when he passed through Customs and Immigration?

The American people not only deserve to have answers to these questions, they must have answers. It makes the debate over Obama's citizenship a rather short and simple one.

Q: Did he travel to Pakistan in 1981, at age 20?A : Yes, by his own admission.

Q: What passport did he travel under?A: There are only three possibilities.1) He traveled with a U.S. Passport,2) He traveled with a British passport, or3) He traveled with an Indonesia passport.

Q: Is it possible that Obama traveled with a U.S. Passport in 1981?A: No. It is not possible. Pakistan was on the U.S. State Department's "no travel" list in 1981.

Conclusion:When Obama went to Pakistan in 1981 he was traveling either with a British passport or an Indonesian passport. If he were traveling with a British passport that would provide proof that he was born in Kenya on August 4, 1961, not in Hawaii as he claims.

If he were traveling with an Indonesian passport that would tend to prove that he relinquished whatever previous citizenship he held, British or American, prior to being adopted by his Indonesian step-father in 1967.

Whatever the truth of the matter, the American people need to know how he managed to become a "natural born" American citizen between 1981 and 2008..

Given the destructive nature of his plans for America , as illustrated by his speech before Congress and the disastrous spending plan he has presented to Congress, the sooner we learn the truth of all this, the better.

If you don't care that your President is not a natural born Citizen and in violation of the Constitution, thats your problem and you are free to leave the country or start your own blogand post your opinions.

Everyone, here are media clips on Boehner’s web video thus far. All of the following clips either embed the video or link to it. YouTube also put it in the “spotlight videos” section of their News and Politics videos: http://www.youtube.com/news?s=rf.

02 July 2009

On July 4th of 1776, our Founders, assembled as representatives to the Second Continental Congress, issued a declaration stating most notably: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ... That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government..."

In other words, our Founders affirmed that our rights, which are inherent by Natural Law as provided by our Creator, can't be arbitrarily alienated by men like England's King George III, who believed that the rights of men are the gifts of government.

Our Founders publicly declared their intentions to defend these rights by attaching their signatures between July 4th and August 2nd of 1776 to the Declaration. They and their fellow Patriots pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor as they set about to defend the Natural Rights of man.

At the conclusion of the American War for Independence in 1783, our Founders determined the new nation needed a more suitable alliance among the states than the Articles of Confederation. After much deliberation, they proposed the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1787, ratified in 1788 and implemented in 1789 as subordinate guidance to our Declaration of Independence.

Since that time, generations of American Patriots have laid down their lives "to support and defend" our Constitution -- and I would note here that their sacred oath says nothing about a so-called "Living Constitution" as advocated by the political left.

Given that bit of history as a backdrop, consider the lexicography of our current political ideology.

On the dark side of the spectrum would be Leftists, liberals and tyrants.

(Sidebar: One should not confuse "classical liberalism" with "contemporary liberalism." The former refers to those, like Thomas Jefferson, who advocated individual liberty, while the latter refers to those, like Barack Hussein Obama, who advocate statism, which is the antithesis of liberty.)

Statism, as promoted by contemporary American liberals, has as its objective the establishment of a central government authorized as the arbiter of all that is "good" for "the people" -- and conferring upon the State ultimate control over the most significant social manifestation of individual rights, economic enterprise.

On the left, all associations between individuals ultimately augment the power and control of the State. The final expression and inevitable terminus of such power and control, if allowed to progress unabated, is tyranny.

The word "tyranny" is derived from the Latin "tyrannus," which translates to "illegitimate ruler."

Liberals, then, endeavor to undermine our nation's founding principles in order to achieve their statist objectives. However, politicians who have taken an oath to "support and defend" our Constitution, but then govern in clear defiance of that oath, are nothing more than illegitimate rulers, tyrants.

(Sidebar: Some Leftists contend that Communism and Fascism are at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Properly understood, however, both of these forms of government are on the left, because both have as a common end the establishment of an omnipotent state led by a dictator.)

Over on the "right wing" of the political spectrum, where the light of truth shines, would be "conservatives," from the Latin verb "conservare," meaning to preserve, protect and defend -- in this case, our Constitution.

American conservatives are those who seek to conserve our nation's First Principles, those who advocate for individual liberty, constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and the promotion of free enterprise, strong national defense and traditional American values.

Contemporary political ideology is thus defined by tyrannus and conservare occupying the Left and Right ends of the American political spectrum, defining the difference between liberals and conservatives.

Though there are many devoted protagonists at both ends of this scale, the space in between is littered with those who, though they identify with one side or the other, are not able to articulate the foundation of that identity. That is to say, they are not rooted in liberal or conservative doctrine, but motivated by contemporaneous political causes associated with the Left or Right.

These individuals do not describe themselves as "liberal" or "conservative" but as Democrat or Republican. Further, they tend to elect ideologically ambivalent politicians who are most adept at cultivating special interest constituencies.

That having been said, however, there is a major difference between those on the Left and the Right, as demonstrated by our most recent national elections. Those on the Left tend to form a more unified front for the purpose of electability; they tend to embrace a "win at all costs" philosophy, while those on the right tend to spend valuable political capital drawing distinctions between and among themselves.

I would suggest that this disparity is the result of the contest between human nature and Natural Law.

The Left appeals to the most fundamental human instincts to procure comfort, sustenance and shelter, and to obtain those basic needs by the most expedient means possible. The Left promises that the State will attain those needs equally, creating a path of least resistance for that fulfillment.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Right promotes the tenets of Natural Law -- individual liberty and its attendant requirements of personal responsibility and self-reliance.Clearly, one of these approaches is far easier to sell to those who have been systematically dumbed down by government educational institutions and stripped of their individual dignity by the plethora of government welfare programs.

That easy sell notwithstanding, the threat of tyranny can eventually produce an awakening among the people and a reversal of trends toward statism. But this reversal depends on the emergence of a charismatic, moral leader who can effectively advocate for liberty. (Ronald Wilson Reagan comes to mind.)

For some nations, this awakening has come too late. The most notable examples in the last century are Russia, Germany, Italy and China, whose peoples suffered greatly under the statist tyrannies they came to embrace. In Germany and Italy, the state collapsed after its expansionist designs were forcibly contained. In Russia, the state collapsed under the weight of 70 years of economic centralization and ideological expansionism.

The Red Chinese regime, having witnessed the collapse of the USSR, has so far avoided its own demise by combining an autocratic government with components of a free enterprise economic system. (My contacts in China, including that nation's largest real estate developers and investment fund managers, believe the Red regime will be gone within five years.)Of course, there exists an American option for the rejection of tyranny: Revolution. And it is an essential option, because the Natural Rights of man are always at risk of contravention by tyrants. At no time in the last century has our Republic faced a greater threat from "enemies, domestic" than right now.

"Our individual salvation," insists Barack Obama, "depends on collective salvation." In other words, BHO's tyranny, et al, must transcend Constitutional authority. And in accordance with his despotic ideals, Obama is now implementing "the fundamental transformation of the United States of America" that he promised his cadre of liberal voters.

It is yet to be seen whether the current trend toward statism will be reversed by the emergence of a great conservative leader, or by revolution, but if you're betting on another Ronald Reagan, I suggest you hedge your bet.

Our Declaration's author, Thomas Jefferson, understood the odds. He wrote, "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground," and he concluded, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."Accordingly, George Washington advised, "We should never despair, our Situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new Exertions and proportion our Efforts to the exigency of the times."